Cold Coffee
by Sweetpuppyalli
Summary: Tess is a senior at Winthrop High School. She is quirky and cute. She works at the White Elm Cafe. Adrian is the star quarterback. He is both arrogant and obnoxious Everyone is in love with him. Read about what happens when their lives intersect in an odd turn of events.
1. Chapter 1

chapter 1: Cold Coffee

A cool autumn breeze crept into the Café along with a set of chimes announcing a new customer. The White Elm Café was a quaint little shop with mismatched cups and a string of Christmas lights hanging from the ceiling. An ever-burning fire cozied up in the corner of the Café. A worn velvet couch lay upon a deerskin rug. I found the haphazard decorating comforting. It was home, I have spent countless late nights curled up by the fire cramming for a physics test the next morning. I was thrilled when Steven, the owner of White Elm, offered me a job this September.

I looked up warily from behind the counter. I grinned as I saw Paige stroll in warming herself near the fire. Paige and I have been best friends since kindergarten. Ever since, we have been inseparable. Paige is stunning. She has platinum blonde hair that goes past her shoulders and frames her heart shaped face. A pair of shocking blue eyes contrasts her tan skin. She is curvy and is the kind of girl who can't stand having the same nail color longer than a week. I on the other hand, have an unruly lock of curls that is just impossible to maintain. I am petite and have a small dimple on my left cheek when I grin. Paige says that my best feature is my dark chocolate eyes and a set of full eyelashes to match. We made quite the pair, but as they say _opposites attract_.

"One peppermint mocha please," Paige ordered as she undid her wool scarf.

I quickly prepared the steaming mug while humming 'Little Things' my absolute favorite song at the moment. The room was quickly filled with the aroma of crisp peppermint with a scent of whipped cream. I set down the red mug in front of Paige and plumped down in the seat next to her. A dreadful trigonometry book lay untouched beside her. Paige squinted at the numbers in frustration.

"Ughh. TESS! Why in the world is there such a thing as trigonometry anyway? Where will this get me in life? I want to be a photographer and I guarantee you there is no trigotometary in photography." She ranted.

"Well first off its trigonometry, and second off what's your deal today? Did you and Owen get into a fight again?" I questioned lightly.

"Is it that obvious?" Paige cried out. At that moment a chime rang throughout the room. We both turned toward the door to find Adrian Jones strut into the Café. Adrian was the star quarterback at Winthrop High School, which all three of us attended. He was beyond obnoxious, rude, arrogant, etc. Paige had a huge crush on him before Owen moved to Winthrop sophomore year. Who could blame her? Every girl had a thing for Adrian, everyone but me.


	2. Chapter 2

chapter 2: Cold Coffee

I rolled my eyes toward Paige hoping Adrian wouldn't notice. I sluggishly got up and made my way behind the counter.

"What can I do for you today?" I muttered politely with a fake smile plastered on my face.

"Yeah, I'm getting a venti skinny double shot no whip. Make it quick," Adrian snapped. I let out an amused scoff and started to prepare his order.

"Such a pretentious drink for such a dimwitted guy," I laughed to myself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned with an annoyed look.

"Nothing…Its just that you being the star quarterback and everything you just don't seem to be a relatively bright guy" I answered. Adrian raised his eyebrows in a quizzical way.

"I wouldn't categorize you as the kind of person to stereotype people…. Teddy?" he stated.

"Its Tess, and I don't need to "stereotype" anyone I just know what kind of guy you are," I answered smoothly. At that, Adrian leaned in inches away from my face. My heart started racing. I prayed he could not hear the thunderous beats. I could smell his "pine" cologne that lingered on him. He let out a mischievous grin.

"You don't know anything about me, doll," he smirked as he picked up his ready-to-go venti and walked out the door. I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to see Paige gaping at me with disbelief. She jumped out of her seat practically knocking over the textbook.

"Oh My Gosh! Did you just have a conversation with the Adrian Jones? The now Single totally HOT Adrian Jones?" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Single? Since when did Bethany and him break up?" I asked.

"Who cares?" Paige giggled, "He is so into you. Did you see the way he looked at you? Get on it girl." I laughed at my boy crazy best friend.

"He's not my type. He is so arrogant and into himself," I stated.

"Is not! He is perfect and if I wasn't dating Owen I would be pretty tempted to chase him myself," Paige retorted.

"Speaking of Owen, what happened between you and him?" I asked hoping to change the subject.

"Don't get me started about that!" Paige replied, "Hey I got to run. Call me we have some major gossiping we need to catch up on!" With that Paige stormed out of the Café into the autumn night, leaving me alone replaying the conversation I had with Adrian.


	3. Chapter 3

chapter 3: Cold Coffee

I gazed out the window overlooking the school parking lot. A quick glance at the clock confirmed that I had another excruciatingly long thirty minutes left of class. Mr. Corona stood in the front of the room giving us a lecture going on about the "creative brilliance" of Shakespeare. I let myself zone out as I recalled the events of last night.

After locking up the Café, I walked on the skinny sidewalk, which was lined with maple trees that had just began to tint orange. The nights were getting darker, a sign of the coming winter. A cool autumn breeze caused my bare cheeks to flush scarlet red. I lived just five blocks from the Café, in a roomy apartment I shared with my mother.

I dropped my backpack off by the couch and bolted straight down the hall into the sanctuary of my room. I sighed as I heard my phone go off. I picked it up to find Paige waiting impatiently on the other line.

"What are you doing this Friday?" Paige babbled.

"Umm…" I began but before I could finish Paige cut me off.

"Okay good. You're free. Me and You are going to our very first party as seniors!" she giggled, "I am a single lady now and so ready to mingle."

"Single?" I questioned, "What happened to you and Owen?"

"Oh I broke up with that jerk. I found him with another girl at the movies last night. He gave the whole 'It's not what it looks like' speech. Please, I read to many fan fictions to know where that is going to lead to, heartbreak and despair," she stated.

"Oh, I am so sorry Paige. You could do so much better anyways. If you need anything I am here," I said with sympathy.

"So you will go to the party?" she asked brightly.

"I never said that," I replied. I wasn't really in the mood to socialize.

"Oh no. You are going to that party. You said that if I needed you, you would be there for me. I need you now. Please, for me?" she pouted.

"Fine, but I am dragging you along to go to the art show with me next week," I sighed.

"Ahhh! No way! I totally need to plan out what to wear!" Paige exclaimed

"But you have four whole days to decide," I added but it was too late. She had already hung up.

"Tess! Tess!" a voice rang out pulling me back into reality.

"I am sorry can you repeat the question?" I murmured dreamily. A round of snickering came from the back of the class.

"I did not call on you to answer a question Miss Clark. I called your name so you could take back your test from last week," he said sternly.

"Right," I answered. I got up from my desk and quickly grabbed the paper from Mr. Corona's extended hand. I snuck a peek at the test and a rush of disappointment came upon me. I had gotten yet another "D" on the test. I am a bright student, but I just can't stand English.

"Ring, Ring," the bell boomed announcing the end of the school day, in other words, freedom.

"Not so fast Miss Clark," Mr. Corona said making me shrink in my seat.

"Did I do something wrong?" I asked innocently.

"Well I can see you are a smart kid, Tess. All I am suggesting is that you get a tutor. Your tutor can help clarify anything you find confusing. Sound good?" he questioned. I considered my options. I could continue failing English or I could swallow my pride and get a tutor. I picked the latter.

"A tutor sounds great! Who do you have in mind?" I asked meekly.

"Well I'll let you have my best student. Do you know who Adrian Jones is? How does that sound?" He remarked cheerily.

Did I know Adrian Jones? The star quarterback, obnoxious, dimwitted Adrian Jones? The Adrian Jones I had insulted just yesterday? That Adrian Jones?

Yet all I could muster was a weak "Great" and I was out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

chapter 4: Cold Coffee

The days leading to Friday were both uneventful and painfully short. I was still in shock after learning that Adrian was to be my tutor. My first study session was scheduled for Monday. The only thing that could be worse is the dreaded party Paige is dragging me to tonight. I stare at my reflection scrutinizing my outfit from head to toe. Paige had laid out a skimpy skin-tight cream dress and a pair of six-inch heels to match. I looked at the clothing with disgust; if it were up to me I would have thrown on jeans and a sweater. Paige said that the dress complemented my dark eyes. I groaned, this was going to be a long night.

We pulled up into the driveway of a large house. I carefully sidestepped beer-cans that littered the driveway. The house was packed with people dancing to the music that blared from an unseen stereo. A pack of girls danced in the middle of room while a group of guys observed. I found myself separated from Paige in the chaos. I miraculously squeezed through the crowd into the kitchen. Fighting the crowd had caused a wave of heat to come upon me as well as work up a sweat. I searched halfheartedly looking for anything unalchoholic but found nothing. I squeezed my eyes shut wishing myself back in the café curled up by the warm fire.

"Looking for something?" a voice said disrupting my fantasy. I turned around to find myself face to face with Adrian.

"Yeah an actual drink that won't give me a hangover in the morning," I retorted. He gave me a knowing nod.

"Here," he said as he solemnly handed over a cup filled with clear liquid. It smelled and looked exactly like water but I was hesitant.

"C'mon you don't trust me?" he challenged.

"Why should I? You didn't even remember my name last time we met," I replied.

"Well if I remember right, last time we met you called me some pretty harsh names," he said. I blushed with embarrassment at the memory.

"Adrian, I am sorry for all that stuff I said. You were right I shouldn't have assumed anything about you," I told him.

"Wait sorry what did you say? I didn't hear you over the music could u repeat that?" Adrian smirked.

"I said you were right and I was wrong. Happy?" I answered as I rolled my eyes over how immature he was being.

"Very. Well are you going to take a sip or not?" He teased. I look down warily at the cup in my hands and took a slow sip. He was telling the truth it was just water. I gave him a small smile of gratitude.

"Thanks, you don't drink?" I asked puzzled. He flinched at this question.

"No," He said simply and that was it. A silence fell between us. I was about to walk a way when a drunken body slammed into mine. I heard a glass shatter as I slowly looked down to see a red stain on my cream dress. A surprised shriek escaped from my lips. Adrian gave me an alarmed look and rushed me out of the house with his hand pressed to my back.

"Are you okay?" he questioned with concern.

"I'm fine, a little embarrassed but it's just a stain," I answered.

"Do you need a ride home?" he asked. I looked around just about tell him I would ride home with Paige. However, I had lost her in the crowd and I wasn't to keen on going back inside.

"Yeah I guess I do," I answered with a huff. I opened the passenger door of his sleek black Audi. I sunk into the leather chair and let out a sigh. We drove in silence. As we reached the destination I turned around to find Adrian studying me. I suddenly felt self conscious of how much skin this dress showed.

"Thanks," I squeaked as I rushed hurriedly out of his car. When I was inside I slid down allowing myself to lean against the door. I smiled to myself. Adrian was right about one thing, I didn't know a thing about him.


End file.
